The idea for the trip originated in the laundry room in our international house complex while Ayla and I discussed mid-semester break plans and our desire to see the Outback. Over the following weeks, the general framework for our trip developed without much detail aside from the decision to rent two jucy campervans and the creation of an itinerary consisting of destinations, distances, highlights, and vague plans for caravan parks and places to spend the evening. The trip essentially revolved around impromptu decision-making that managed to (fortunately) work out quite well. Ultimately, we overcame a slight (glaring) glitch in our plan and narrowly avoided a handful of disasters all while having good fun. A few days before we departed, we found out that we only successfully rented one campervan rather than two. Financially, this turned out to be a glorious blessing in disguise; however it was inititally stressful due to its technically illegal nature. We ended up having quite a cozy trip through the desert. We managed to keep the van in tact regardless of many kilometers of unsealed road, hours of driving, forgotten curbs, ominous dust storms, and technically illegal passengers. Everything worked out, we came back in one piece, and had an amazing experience which confirmed that all of the minor risks were worth it.
Day One. Friday. April 10, 2009.
We packed up the van and set off for Torquay to see the Rip Curl Pro Surf Competition at Bells Beach. Although the main competition was to be held on Saturday, it was enjoyable to watch professional surfers gracefully catch waves and to spend some time on the beach. My seventh-grade fascination with watching surf competitions temporarily resurfaced and when "Ears to Hear" by MxPx played over the loudspeakers my heart skipped a beat as I was immediately transported to 2001. Soon after, we headed to Lorne, which is where we had our beach orientation. On the way, we spotted a large cloud of smoke and presumably a fire; although this made me nervous we continued driving forth and found our campsite tucked away in the trees. We spent a bit of time in the town and then returned to our campsite, where we set up our tent and the backseat of our van, which conveniently turned into a bed. We sat in the back of the van, lit by flashlight, and talked for a bit surrounded by a variety of campervans and campfires, loud voices and music, and underneath a clear sky. The campsite was cozy and remniscent of summercamp days.
Day Two. Saturday. April 11, 2009.
We departed Lorne with the intention of making it to Adelaide; however, we did not make it due to the fact that we drove along the Great Ocean Road, which is very windy, slow, and more beautiful, and stopped at the Otway Tree Top walk, which provided us with the rare opportunity to walk and sway amongst the tops of trees. We stopped at an Information Center (bless those information centers) and identified a caravan park in Narcoorte as our destination for the evening. Although it was only about three to four hours away, everyone in the information center including the lady behind the desk, an eavesdropper, and the woman on the phone from Narcoorte seemed to think it was absolutely ridiculous that we would be attempting to drive that far even though it was only four in the afternoon. We did it anyway and the ride was quite pleasant from the backseat, as Caitlin assumed the role of the driver while Ayla navigated. We arrived just on time and we settled ourselves in our campsite.
Day Three. Sunday. April 12, 2009.
We woke up in Narcoorte and set off for Adelaide. Narcoorte apparently won the Tidy Town award in 1994. Australia is quite fond of 'tidy towns.' After driving for approximately four hours through a lot of brown and dry countryside, we arrived in Adelaide. Oddly enough it was Easter Sunday, an unconventional one at that as we spent a majority of it on a gorgeous and warm beach, collecting sea shells, wandering, and laying about. We drove to the city centre afteward, which was only about 12km (7 miles) away. We found ourselves on Rundle Street, walked around, ate dinner, and then met up with Mike, a friend I met through Nat. He so kindly offered us a place to stay, which was fortunate because our sleeping arrangements in Adelaide consisted of parking our van on a sidestreet near a park and crossing our fingers. We bought half a slab of beer as a present of sorts, which was accidentally and peculiarly acquired from a man at a supermarket who should not have been selling it, and spent the evening watching The Mighty Boosh, laughing, and sleeping comfortably. Overall, it turned out to be a lovely day and evening! I left Adelaide wanting to return (and I did) so I think that says something about it. It's quaint, seemingly quiet, and generally pleasant: livable. Departing was exciting though because we were heading off to the very iconic Outback portion of the trip.
Day Four. Monday. April 13, 2009.
We woke up rather early and set out to reach Flinders Ranges. We stopped at a little park on the way to eat lunch and I spent some time talking to an older woman who had been traveling for months with her husband and intended to travel for years more! This country, or atleast the instances I find myself in, is filled with the traveling spirit and it's quite motivating and inspiring. After the brief conversation, we got back on the road and soon reached long stretches of road and iconic Outback imagery. Every preconceived image you have of the Outback is what we saw that day and the absence and remoteness of it all was beautiful: the land was golden and occasionally speckled with bundles of green and the horizon was lined with humble mountains. We encountered a dilapidated building: Wilsons Stationmaster Residence, which was built in 1880 and explored it for a while as broken down buildings become particularly interesting in the context of nothingness for miles. I was most amazed by the clarity and crispness of my surroundings and the way the clouds formed shadows on the land. From the back of the van, I watched the ground become darker and more red as the sun began to set. We eventually arrived at Flinders Ranges, but spent about an hour and a half trying to find our campsite, due to a very unhelpful map that was not drawn to scale. After we settled ourselves and cooked dinner, we laid out underneath the sky, looking up, and choosing fitting songs. "We Own the Sky" by M83, perfectly applicable and oddly empowering. "Styrofoam Plates" by Death Cab for Cutie, comforting. Everyone picked wonderful songs and the sky was so clear, the air kind of cold, we finally identified the Southern Cross constellation, and we laughed our heads off for a while. That night, in an attempt to save room in the back of the van and the tent, I slept in the front seat only to never sleep in the front seat again.
Day Five. Tuesday. April 14, 2009.
Although I woke up slightly sleepy and feeling a bit crooked at 6AM, it was easy to overlook amidst the ranges. After we ate breakfast, we climbed a relatively small hill and got the most beautiful view of mountains, trees, and land extending in all directions. Finding our way out of the park proved to be quite lovely as well as we admired the 500-600 million year old rocks and eerie, mangled looking trees.
We headed toward Coober Pedy via the Oodnadatta Track, due to the fact that Lake Eyre is located just off of it. I heard, from multiple sources, that the lake, although a salt lake, was filled with water, which only happens every eight to twelve years. I figured it'd be worth seeing. Ayla looked at the map and noted that we would have to take a track, which is actually unsealed road, which actually means that it is the bumpiest, most rock-filled, pavement-lacking surface you could ever imagine driving on. We thought we were having an authentic outback experience on the Stuart Highway until we got on the Oodnadatta Track and realized that it was the real deal. It was quite exciting. I drove for a while until my arms could no longer take the shakiness of the wheel and until my mind could no longer handle the prospect of a burst tire in the middle of nowhere. Matt took over driving and I laid in the back and closed my eyes for a while in order to alleviate the stressful nature of this experience. Clearly, I worry a lot, often too much, but in this situation it was probably warranted. With Matt driving, we covered ground much faster and eventually arrived at Lake Eyre South, which was dry and completely empty. I presume North Lake Eyre is filled with water, but we were not going to attempt venturing out much farther on unsealed road. It was cool to see a salt basin: a lake you can walk on! After eating lunch and battling flies, we proceeded onward.
William Creek was the second major attraction of the day. Population: Two, the owners of William Creek Pub. People leave random items in the pub and Ayla was planning on leaving an old I.D.; however, the woman at the pub informed us that a dust storm was approaching and that people were parking and waiting it out. We took one look at the sky, hopped back in the van, and proceeded to out-drive the dust storm. While previously worrying in the backseat, I carefully watched the sky mesh with the earth, anticipating the emergence of a tornado-like funnel. I did not know that it was a dust storm and had I known that I might have worried less. Dust storms are rather neat and it would have been interesting to find our van encased in a thin layer of dust, but it's probably best that we beat the storm.
We arrived at Coober Pedy, an opal mining town, just before the setting of the sun. The town is incredibly eerie, due to the fact that it is generally barren and there are deep holes everywhere: essentially the perfect place for a murder. The hightlight of our evening was camping underground. Because the outback gets so hot, there are a number of underground places to go to in order to escape the heat. We went to town, which was overall entirely unsettling and ate dinner. I identified a man, who was the most regular, pleasant-looking man; however, in the context of the eerie town, he looked like a murderer or at least a main character in a David Lynch film. Keep this man in mind. We returned to our underground campsite and settled ourselves. The sky that evening was single-handedly the most beautiful sky I have ever seen in my life (I am full of hyperboles, but I mean this!). Because the ground was so flat, the sky was a perfectly clear half-globe of stars. I felt like I was in a Planetarium. Our sleeping arrangements that evening were quite comfortable even though we slept on the floor of what was essentially a man-made cave.
Day Six. Wednesday. April 15, 2009.
We woke up in our underground home after a decent night's sleep and set off for Yulara. It took about eight hours and was one of our longest days of continuous driving. We entered the Northern Territory, drove through Marla and Erldunda, mistook Mt. Conner for Uluru for a long time, and eventually arrived at our campsite at a resort in Yulara, which is only about a twenty minute drive from Uluru, also known as Ayer's Rock. The evening proved to be an interesting one to say the least. We settled at our campsite and drove to Uluru to see it at sunset, but there were too many clouds. It was still beautiful in its own way, slightly anti-climactic, but again, quite uniquely Australian. Some people choose to climb Uluru, but we didn't. We didn't get to see the Olgas up close either, but we saw them from afar. Ten days is not a plentiful amount of time when you're traveling 6100 km.
On our return to our campsite, while driving the car, it started to make a horrid noise that seemed to indicate it would die beneath me; however, we pulled into our spot, put it out of our minds temporarily, and made dinner while talking to two very entertaining individuals: Heath and Baxter, who were traveling up to Darwin. At some point, Matt came up to me and told me, while laughing, that he thought he saw the eerie guy from Coober Pedy. Together, we laughed, and acknowledged how it would be entirely unsettling that he might indeed be following us. Later on, while talking to our newly acquired friends at a picnic table, this man walked up with a number of other people, and I nearly died (he is the man pictured below, in the middle). He turned out to be a nice guy from France. Obviously not a murderer in the Outback. No, I have not seen Wolf Creek, nor do I plan on doing so. That evening turned out to be fun as it was nice to meet others filled to the brim with the 'traveling is healthy and at the moment superior to living a traditional life' ideology. Also, for the first time in my life, someone asked to take a photo with me due to my leap year birthday and it is pictured below.
We woke up in our underground home after a decent night's sleep and set off for Yulara. It took about eight hours and was one of our longest days of continuous driving. We entered the Northern Territory, drove through Marla and Erldunda, mistook Mt. Conner for Uluru for a long time, and eventually arrived at our campsite at a resort in Yulara, which is only about a twenty minute drive from Uluru, also known as Ayer's Rock. The evening proved to be an interesting one to say the least. We settled at our campsite and drove to Uluru to see it at sunset, but there were too many clouds. It was still beautiful in its own way, slightly anti-climactic, but again, quite uniquely Australian. Some people choose to climb Uluru, but we didn't. We didn't get to see the Olgas up close either, but we saw them from afar. Ten days is not a plentiful amount of time when you're traveling 6100 km.
On our return to our campsite, while driving the car, it started to make a horrid noise that seemed to indicate it would die beneath me; however, we pulled into our spot, put it out of our minds temporarily, and made dinner while talking to two very entertaining individuals: Heath and Baxter, who were traveling up to Darwin. At some point, Matt came up to me and told me, while laughing, that he thought he saw the eerie guy from Coober Pedy. Together, we laughed, and acknowledged how it would be entirely unsettling that he might indeed be following us. Later on, while talking to our newly acquired friends at a picnic table, this man walked up with a number of other people, and I nearly died (he is the man pictured below, in the middle). He turned out to be a nice guy from France. Obviously not a murderer in the Outback. No, I have not seen Wolf Creek, nor do I plan on doing so. That evening turned out to be fun as it was nice to meet others filled to the brim with the 'traveling is healthy and at the moment superior to living a traditional life' ideology. Also, for the first time in my life, someone asked to take a photo with me due to my leap year birthday and it is pictured below.
Day Seven. Thursday. April 16, 2009.
We woke up before 6AM, which seemed to be a trend, in order to see the sunrise at Uluru. Again, a bit anti-climactic, but I'm not sure what we expected. The way the light interacted with the rock was still beautiful. I think the postcards and photographs were slightly exaggerated or maybe it was just the cloud-filled sky. We packed up our campsite and set off for Alice Springs, our final destination before we turned around to head back south along Stuart Highway.
Alice Springs is an odd place and most likely draws people due to its proximity to Uluru, Olgas, and King's Canyon and the fact that it has an airport nearby. We did take a twenty minute drive to the MacDonnell Ranges to see the Jessie and Emily Gaps and Corrobborree Rock: all of which were beautiful and as Ayla put it, "Our own personal Uluru." Everything in Australia is so ancient. Corrobborree Rock is 800 million years old! We do have Alice Springs to thank for an $8 cord to connect the ipod to the stereo, which preserved our sanity that was on the brink of being lost entirely due to a twelve-cd rotation (we heard every cd at least five to six times by then, at least).
Day Eight. Friday. April 17, 2009
We woke up and drove, from 7am to 7pm, terminating in Woomera. We stopped in Coober Pedy one last time and attempted to find a yard filled with neat looking junk that Heath and Baxter told us about; however, we only found a yard filled with junk, which we quickly found out was actually private property and semi-dangerous. Needless to say, we left. We were looking for The Big Winch technically (we think), but we left without searching much further. The excitement of the day consisted of jumping in front of the amazing Coober Pedy sign, driving 140km/h, and stopping to take a series of photographs in the middle of nowhere. Eventually, we arrived in Woomera, where we ate dinner, and went to bed.
Day 9. Saturday. April 18, 2009.
We accidentally woke up at 5am. The time differences in Australia are quite mind-boggling and we never really sorted out what time it was anywhere we went, but it worked out in our favour each time. I started off the day driving and first we went to an outdoor aerospace park and then continued onward. The roads were empty and the sun was barely up in the sky. We stopped at a railroad crossing and watched a freight train chug along for a while and then continued driving. In fact, the day was defined by driving and it was the only day on which I almost went mad in the backseat, feeling far too confined and warm. Our goal was to get to the Grampians, so we drove and drove and drove, only stopping at a little playground where we had an excessive amount of fun. We also stumbled upon Loxton, Tidy Town of '95. Eventually, we arrived at Hall's Gap, just outside of the Grampians where we were nestled in the forest amidst little camper houses and essentially no one else.
Day 10. Sunday. April 19, 2009. The final day!
We woke up later than usual and set off for the Grampians. We went on a two-hour medium difficulty hike to the Pinnacle, which was quite rocky initially, eventually more forested, and quite rewarding at the end. A hike felt refreshing after days of sitting, driving, and walking around campsites. After we completed the hike, we began our return to Melbourne.
Arriving in Melbourne was a bit unsettling as it seemed fairly unnatural. I rather enjoyed the nothingness, the stretches of land and sky in every direction, cozy forests, empty and eerie towns like Coober Pedy, Erldunda, and Marla, greeting sparse drivers on Stuart Highway, the potential for dust storms, and the general understanding that the outback is a harsh and hostile environment, in which it is hard to sustain life. I enjoyed being in the middle of nowhere. I would do it again. In fact, I really wish that we had more than ten days. Meeting other travelers filled me with a bit of envy in a sense that I wish I could have driven to Darwin, to Perth, and all around the center of Australia. Although the terrain gets repetitive, it's beautiful. I'm glad that we didn't just fly to Alice Springs and see Uluru or King's Canyon. The experience of driving was one-hundred percent worth it (carbon footprint aside) and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to take the trip with such wonderful travel companions and that our trip was a success.
I have to say... I am so jealous of this trip... luckily you took excellent pictures and I can live vicariously through you ;-)... I am so happy that you finally found the Southern Cross!!!
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